Armand "Tip" Thiboutot

Armand “Tip” Thiboutot, Jr. of Boston, Massachusetts, passed away on October 16, 2022 at the Veterans Administration Hospital in West Roxbury. Armand leaves behind his beloved wife, Patricia, his daughter Anna Thiboutot Welch and her husband, Matthew Welch of Pownal, Maine, daughter Michele Thiboutot Morgan and husband Guy Morgan of Chatou, France, and his three grandchildren, Sebastian, Gabriella and Sienna Morgan. He was a loving brother and “Uncle Tip” to several nephews and nieces.

He was born in Fall River, Massachusetts on April 10, 1937 to Marjorie Knight and Armand J. Thiboutot. At the age of 19, he entered the US army where he incurred a spinal cord injury. Following his recovery, Tip pursued a Bachelor's degree in Philosophy, a Master's degree in French, and a PhD in French Literature from Boston University where he soon became a lecturer in French to undergraduate students. He also earned a Diplôme d’Etudes de Civilisation Française from the Université de la Sorbonne in Paris, France.

Tip dedicated the majority of his professional career to promoting equal rights and access for persons with disabilities. He served as a board member at the Boston Center for Independent Living for several years, worked as Assistant Chief of Prosthetics at the Boston Medical Center, Jamaica Plain and co-founded The Access Group, an organization which helped businesses comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act.

An avid able-bodied basketball player as a teen and briefly at the college level, Tip started playing wheelchair basketball for the New England Clippers in 1968. He founded the local wheelchair basketball team, the Boston Mustangs, in 1972. In the following decades, Tip contributed to the development of wheelchair basketball on a National and International level. He coached the USA men's team at the 1984 Stoke Mandeville Paralympic Games. His love for France and French culture led him to coach the Parisian CAPSAA team during the 2005-2006 season.

In addition to playing and coaching wheelchair basketball for more than 40 years, Tip was the Vice-President of the National Wheelchair Basketball Association (NWBA) for 15 years and Vice-President of the International Wheelchair Basketball Federation (IWBF) between 1998 – 2002. In recognition of his dedication to the sport, Tip was inducted into the NWBA Hall of Fame in 1993 and received the IWBF Gold Triad Medal in 2002. Author of "Best Teams of US" and the book entitled "Wheelchairs Can Jump" published in 2012, Tip was a true pioneer and leader in the sport of wheelchair basketball.

A loving husband, father, and grandfather, Tip will be remembered for his fierce intellect, assured leadership, and unrelenting strength and determination.

A Celebration of Life Service will be held on Tuesday, November 1stst at 2pm, at J.S. Waterman-Langone Chapel, 580 Commercial Street Boston, MA. COMPLIMENTARY VALET PARKING ATTENDANTS AT FRONT DOOR

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the National Wheelchair Basketball Association https://www.nwba.org/donate